Thoughts of Another

I need to take a look at my balance between books and physical activity. Things that used to be able to take a beating are now sore. I need to move my legs more and work my upper body again. I can move but I can feel the hurt. I could try to make excuses that I didn't do my recovery correctly such as stretching or a light warm-down. I think at the end of the night, both of us were a bit too occupied to focus on personal care.

The morning wasn't much different. I roll over to find the other body in my bed. Her face is relaxed as she sleeps the day away. I've seen her on a normal day. She's up well before this time, working hard and giving orders all while managing her own business. It's when she disappears from her role that she tends to act like anyone else. I get to see this side of her now and again.

Should I wake her up? What time is it? It's only 8:24 in the morning. By now, we would be getting things together for our lessons. She would come through the door promptly at 8:20 and ensure that I had the books and everything I needed in the order we would go over them. Then we get to work. She lectures, I listen and take notes, and repeat for different subjects she has picked that day. Right now though, this is nice. I can look at her in a much more natural state. She's still in a position of authority at the end of the day.

I move over kissing her nose. It's enough to disturb her. She's still in a drowsy state as she mumbles out, "Kiss me like you mean it…" I can't tell if she means that or not. I move closer, placing my lips to hers and she reacts in kind. I lay back down to watch her smile. "That's a nice way to wake up." I can feel the blanket move as she stretches her legs. Her arms stretch out finding their way around me.

I don't think she was expecting me to be there. Her eyes opened rather quickly with a flutter. She takes in her surroundings before meeting me once again, "I um… I didn't expect to be here." She lifts herself on her forearms trying to shake off the sleep before falling onto her stomach. Her bare back curves with the bed guiding my eyes from her shoulder blades to the base of her tail before the blanket covers her. She rolls to look away from me stretching out one more time.

Her head turns to look over her shoulder at me, "You got to see me naked for hours last night and you're still staring at me."

"I'm appreciating art."

Her head fell back to the pillow to ignore my statement. The next time she stretched she moved to put her back to me. I moved myself to be up against her sliding my arm across her side. My paw moved over her stomach, between her breasts, and to her left shoulder to hold her against me. I could feel her go-to move but I tightened my grip on her just a little, "Please, just a little bit longer."

My plea worked. She relaxed her body into mine sinking into the mattress. What are we? Is this a fling or something more? I have to ask myself do I have real feelings for her or is it because we are just in such close proximity to one another? How does she feel about me? Am I a pet? Pet project? A student? Another employee? There are so many things I question.

My mind must have wandered off enough that when I opened my eyes again the body that was once pressed up against me was gone. I look over my shoulder to see her coat missing as well. "She's a busy woman." I roll onto my back to stare at the ceiling. It's safe to say that the lessons today are canceled. I'm OK with that. I can use today to brace against the cold and move around. I need to keep myself in a shape.

With the sun up, the chill in the air is minimal. I can walk around the grounds almost unrestricted. It's a lot larger than I remember. I follow the perimeter where there are clear signs of activity. I know the property line goes much further out than this but there's no reason to get crazy about it. I just need to get my heart pumping.

When the opportunity presents itself, I take advantage to do some heavy lifting to assist the few workers that are still out. It's good to know that I'm still helpful. I can still do the heavy lifting that I used to but I have to wonder how far can that go. When I came here I spent weeks building my upper body strength. Would I be able to meet that requirement again?

I'm going to have to buckle down. After Madam Odette's classes, I'll need to come up with a workout routine. The cold might be an issue but I can work around that. I hate to use magic as an end-all solution to everything but I'll need help to keep warm. Somedays, when the sun is out, it feels almost like spring. But if the wind kicks up or the clouds move back in, it can be blisteringly cold.

A thought struck me. Is it possible for me to make a barrier that is stronger than my ability to break? If so, I might be able to work on what Badger taught me with fewer restraints. I'll need to dig into some reading of my own for this. I don't know how to make barriers or defenses. But I'm thinking that if I can plant a log in the ground and put a strong barrier on it, I might be able to incorporate some magic into some basic blows.

I seem to have a natural affinity with fire. I should look into elemental-resistant barriers.